The 1884 Maroons: Roster Moves

The Unions have released Perry Werden and laid off Tom Sullivan for two weeks.  Sullivan's legs are in bad condition.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 1, 1884


It's been speculated that Werden had suffered an arm injury, which would explain his lack of use by the Maroons and his release.  He would come back to have a decent career in the major leagues as a first baseman but his major league pitching career was pretty much over.  Sullivan, on the other hand, was finished as a major league baseball player.

How Jack Brennan Came To Be Called Jack Brennan

In the post yesterday about Jack Brennan, I had a bit of a throwaway line about not knowing why Jack Brennan, who, according to B-Ref, was born John Gottlieb Dorn, was actually called Jack Brennan.  Well, I got an email from David Ball mentioning that there was an entry on Brennan in Major League Baseball Profiles and it mentioned how Brennan came to be called Brennan.  David, as usual, was correct:

Reportedly, after catching amateur games in the early 1880s he would tour St. Louis taverns, endlessly singing the song "Brennan on the Moor."  Eventually, he became known as Brennan himself.  The story is no doubt somewhat apocryphal, as is the version that he clandestinely assumed the identity of John Brennan, a boy who lived down the street from him, and to further baffle his pursuers he was listed for well over a century in baseball reference works as James Augustus Brennan, who proved to be a different man entirely.  The first intimation that something odd was afoot with Brennan came when he and Perry Werden appeared in the TSN offices one day in the spring of 1890 and Werden informed TSN that Brennan's real name was John Gottleib Dorn, leading Brennan to counter that Werden was really Patrick Ward.  

-Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Volume 2

The entry on Brennan, which was written by Peter Morris and David Nemec, lists Brennan's actual name as John Gottleib Doering Jr., which is an even better name than John Gottlieb Dorn.  It also mentions that Brennan, during the 1890s, worked winters at a gambling hall in Madison, Illinois, which is about thirty blocks from where I'm currently sitting.

And, yes, this is really nothing more than a shameless plug for the book.    

   

The 1884 Maroons: Still Putting The Team Together

The St. Louis Union Club have signed young Brennan, who caught Hodnet so well in Sunday's game.  Brennan is the youngest player on the Union team, and one of the most promising.  He caught last year on the local Grand Avenue and Liberty teams, Werden being his pitcher.  He also went to Chillicothe, Mo., with Werden, and played quite a good game up there.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 8, 1884


Jack  Brennan was actually born John Gottlieb Dorn.  I have no idea why he changed his name unless it was because he wanted to hide his professional baseball activities.

Brennan appears to have played an important role on the Maroons as a utility guy and first guy off the bench.  He played in 56 games and appeared at catcher, third base, short and in the outfield.  He went on to have about as successful career as a utility guy who can't hit can have, playing five seasons in the majors and continuing his professional career into his thirties.

There's a couple of good Jack Brennan stories here and here, if you're interested.  

Another Diamond Dust Round Up

The below comes from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of February 24, 1884:

The Lucas Club has three catchers and three pitchers.

Leaving out the Mullane situation, finding pitchers and catchers appears to have been a problem for the Maroons. At some point, I'll address this in more detail.

Henry Lucas is purchasing his club's uniforms at home. He says St. Louis can make up as good uniforms as Chicago.

That's a bit of nice PR.

Hodnett and Werden are well thought of by members of the Lucas nine, and it predicted that both will develop great strength this season.

Perry Werden and Charlie Hodnett went a combined 24-3 for the Maroons in 1884.

Work on the Lucas Club grounds is rapidly progressing and the place will be ready for business in a short time. The roof is now being put on the grand stand.

We're (finally) getting close to the start of the season.

Dunlap and Schaffer have written to Manager Sullivan to hunt them up a private boarding house. It seems their minds are made up as to where they are going to play...

Dunlap and Shaffer, "the Orator," say that they will stick to their contracts with "Lucas." This is what several other players ought to have done.-[New York Truth.]

Not sure why Lucas' name is in quotations.

The Union Association Club of this city is thinking about taking their trips in a special car. President Lucas claims that such an accommodation will not be much more expensive than the ordinary way of traveling, while its advantages in many respects can not be overestimated.

Nothing but the best for the Maroons.

Perry Werden's Obit

Perry Werden, who established an unofficial record of forty-five home runs in 1895 while playing with the Minneapolis club of the old Western League, died today (January 9, 1934) of heart disease. His age was 63.

Mr. Werden in 1890 and 1891 played with the old Baltimore Orioles when that team was composed of such stars as John McGraw, Hughey Jennings and Steve Brodie.

Three years later he performed with the Louisville club, then in the National League, numbering among his team-mates Hans Wagner. he played with the Minneapolis club of the Western League from 1895 to 1900. He was born in St. Louis, Mo.

Mr. Werden at times was associated as player, coach or manager with New Orleans and Memphis in the old Southern League; the St. Louis Browns, the Washington National League Club, the Indianapolis American Association club and the Vicksburg Cotton States League club.

-New York Times, January 10, 1934

Perry Werden

A fine, stalwart player was Perry Werden, at one time one of the best known of major league players. Werden's home position was at first base although he set out as a pitcher. Werden won his first honors in the baseball line while pitching for the Peach Pies in St. Louis. His first professional engagement came to him in 1882 when he joined the Lincoln (Neb.) team. He was with other teams in the Western League until 1884 when he was signed to pitch for the St. Louis Unions with Jack Brennan as his receiver. After the Union smash-up Werden set out as a first baseman and he held down the initial bag for several major league clubs, notably St. Louis. Three years ago Werdon went to Indianapolis and was the coach and trainer of the American Association Championship team of Indianapolis. Werden is a giant and while he has been playing ball for nearly thirty years, he is still active and can get around as well as the liveliest youngster. In his day he was a fine first baseman as well as one of the hardest hitters in the business.

-The National Game


In The Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James names Perry Werden as the best minor league player of the 1890's (for whatever it's worth). David Nemec, in The Beer & Whiskey League, writes that "Werden set a 19th century record when he slammed 45 homers for Minneapolis of the Western League in 1895. Minneapolis's tiny park had a lot to do with his feat. During Werden's AA sojourn in Toledo and Baltimore, most of his long blasts were only good for triples. He had 38 in 1890-91."